FINGAL, Australia – American Chris Kirk shot a 7-under-par 65 to pull into a share of the third-round lead with countryman Jim Herman after Saturday’s third round of the Moonah Classic.
Herman, who led after the first two rounds, including a course-record 62 in the first round, had a 75 on Saturday at the Moonah Links course designed by five-time British Open champion Peter Thomson.
Kirk and Herman had a 54-hole total of 9-under 207 in the tournament jointly sanctioned by the US Nationwide and Australasian PGA tours.
They had a four-stroke lead over four golfers tied for third – Australians Andrew Dodt (68), Jarrod Lyle (72), Alistair Presnell (70) and American Scott Gutschewski (71).
Kirk began his third round tied for 27th, 10 strokes off Herman. But four birdies in five holes on the front nine saw him move quickly up the leaderboard in windy conditions.
“I was lucky to have a real good feel for it all day, how much the wind was going to affect it and hit a lot of solid shots,” Kirk said.
“The key for me (is) I always try to tell myself when it’s a really windy day like that is to never hit one hard.” (AP)